VEX

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does vex mean? 

• VEX (verb)
  The verb VEX has 5 senses:

1. cause annoyance in; disturb, especially by minor irritations

2. disturb the peace of mind of; afflict with mental agitation or distress

3. change the arrangement or position of

4. subject to prolonged examination, discussion, or deliberation

5. be a mystery or bewildering to

  Familiarity information: VEX used as a verb is common.

 Dictionary entry details 

• VEX (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they vex    ... he / she / it vexes   
Past simple: vexed   
Past participle: vexed   
-ing form: vexing   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Cause annoyance in; disturb, especially by minor irritations

Classified under:

Verbs of feeling

Synonyms:

annoy; bother; chafe; devil; get at; get to; gravel; irritate; nark; nettle; rag; rile; vex

Context example:

It irritates me that she never closes the door after she leaves

Hypernyms (to "vex" is one way to...):

displease (give displeasure to)

Verb group:

chafe (feel extreme irritation or anger)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "vex"):

get; get under one's skin (irritate)

eat into; fret; grate; rankle (gnaw into; make resentful or angry)

peeve (cause to be annoyed, irritated, or resentful)

ruffle (trouble or vex)

fret (cause annoyance in)

beset; chevvy; chevy; chivvy; chivy; harass; harry; hassle; molest; plague; provoke (annoy continually or chronically)

antagonise; antagonize (provoke the hostility of)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody

Sentence examples:

The bad news will vex him
The performance is likely to vex Sue

Derivation:

vexation (the act of troubling or annoying someone)

vexation (the psychological state of being irritated or annoyed)

vexer (someone given to teasing (as by mocking or stirring curiosity))

Sense 2

Meaning:

Disturb the peace of mind of; afflict with mental agitation or distress

Classified under:

Verbs of feeling

Synonyms:

vex; worry

Context example:

I cannot sleep--my daughter's health is worrying me

Hypernyms (to "vex" is one way to...):

cark; disorder; disquiet; distract; perturb; trouble; unhinge (disturb in mind or make uneasy or cause to be worried or alarmed)

Cause:

worry (be worried, concerned, anxious, troubled, or uneasy)

Verb group:

worry (be worried, concerned, anxious, troubled, or uneasy)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "vex"):

eat; eat on (worry or cause anxiety in a persistent way)

nag (worry persistently)

misgive (suggest fear or doubt)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody

Derivation:

vexation (something or someone that causes anxiety; a source of unhappiness)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Change the arrangement or position of

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Synonyms:

agitate; commove; disturb; raise up; shake up; stir up; vex

Hypernyms (to "vex" is one way to...):

displace; move (cause to move or shift into a new position or place, both in a concrete and in an abstract sense)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "vex"):

beat; scramble (stir vigorously)

toss (agitate)

rile; roil (make turbid by stirring up the sediments of)

poke (stir by poking)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody
Something ----s something

Sense 4

Meaning:

Subject to prolonged examination, discussion, or deliberation

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Context example:

vex the subject of the death penalty

Hypernyms (to "vex" is one way to...):

debate; deliberate (discuss the pros and cons of an issue)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Sense 5

Meaning:

Be a mystery or bewildering to

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

Synonyms:

amaze; baffle; beat; bewilder; dumbfound; flummox; get; gravel; mystify; nonplus; perplex; pose; puzzle; stick; stupefy; vex

Context example:

This question really stuck me

Hypernyms (to "vex" is one way to...):

bedevil; befuddle; confound; confuse; discombobulate; fox; fuddle; throw (be confusing or perplexing to; cause to be unable to think clearly)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "vex"):

riddle (set a difficult problem or riddle)

elude; escape (be incomprehensible to; escape understanding by)

mix up; stump (cause to be perplexed or confounded)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s somebody

 Context examples 

I am only vexed for a moment.

(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)

“Ah!” said my aunt, rubbing her nose as if she were a little vexed.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

I think her as beautiful as an angel, and I am so vexed with the men for not admiring her!

(Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen)

If I should go out of this Palace my people would soon discover I am not a Wizard, and then they would be vexed with me for having deceived them.

(The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum)

"Want any more?" asked the old gentleman, looking grim and vexed, but trying not to show it.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

You take delight in vexing me.

(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)

When he was very near I heard him crying, in vexed fashion, “Why in hell don’t you sing out?”

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

"But, Captain Wentworth," cried Louisa, "how vexed you must have been when you came to the Asp, to see what an old thing they had given you."

(Persuasion, by Jane Austen)

She was vexed beyond what could have been expressed—almost beyond what she could conceal.

(Emma, by Jane Austen)

“Nay, you cannot vex me,” he answered, all warm again at the very sight of her.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)